In memoriam: Coin Talk member Severus Alexander

Treasured forum member @Severus Alexander passed away on Sunday, December 8, 2024, at home with his beloved wife and their children. Sev died a couple of weeks after celebrating his 53rd birthday with a family re-watch of The Empire Strikes Back. He’s survived by his wife and children, his parents, and many other family members, friends, colleagues, and students who were touched by his love and kindness, by his brilliance and fervent belief in the power of education.



Ever since his terminal cancer diagnosis in 2021, Sev embodied the pithy advice to Keep Calm and Carry On. With humour, optimism, and Monty Python quotes, he repeatedly problem-solved his symptoms and side-effects, until finally even he could no longer bear the struggle. Though his family and friends grieve his loss greatly, they find comfort in knowing he is no longer suffering. During his life, Sev quietly collected accomplishments like others collect souvenirs, with academic achievements in philosophy, science, and music. He was a serious overachiever, but only those closest to him would ever know, since he never made a fuss about it. His life was a masterclass in humility, rationality, and quiet strength. And love. Lots and lots of love.



Sev and his wife met in 1997 at the University of North Carolina. She was studying philosophy in the UK and won a prize to visit any university in the world for a semester and she happened to choose UNC. Sev, a born and bred Calgarian, was in the UNC PhD program and he kindly gave the unknown visiting student a ride from the airport and offered her a spot on his couch. To cut a long story short, they were engaged in 1998 and married in Banff, AB in a surprise ceremony in 1999. They welcomed a son in 2003 and a daughter in 2007. On December 27, Sev and his wife would have celebrated 25 years of happy marriage.



Sev had many passions. Before cancer symptoms made it too difficult, he played the piano and had just started taking singing lessons. (He often jokingly impersonated Pavarotti.) He enjoyed listening to music from Beethoven to Boney M, and was a huge history buff, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm whenever someone showed an interest in Ancient Rome– and of course coins… ancient and medieval coins. A loyal Calgary Flames fan, Sev would be seriously ticked if this were the season they won the Stanley Cup.



Sev frequently took action for the greater good. For example, in 2015, he laboured tirelessly to get political parties to cooperate to elect the first local non-Conservative MP in many years. He also volunteered with a couple of Green Party election campaigns. He spoke up — in person, in print, on the radio — against science-deniers of various persuasions (including anti-vaxxers, creationists, climate change deniers, and homeopaths). But he was always polite. He knew the strength of clarity, patience, and above all, supporting his positions with sound arguments and well-researched evidence.



A dedicated and well-loved teacher and professor of philosophy at a Canadian university, Sev believed (based on empirical evidence, of course!) that adding explicit critical thinking instruction into educational programs would go far in helping make the world a better place. He led the effort to have critical thinking added as a foundational requirement for the BA degree. Before he became ill, he laid the groundwork for getting critical thinking into the K-12 curriculum.

...

Sev was one of my best coinfriends. Frankly, he was one of my best friends, period, without qualification. Remembering all the good times will help ease the sorrow, so let’s all raise a glass and share favorite memories of this wonderful man.

Memorial edited by @TIF from Sev’s family memorial.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I learned a lot paying attention to Sev. Rest in Peace.

 

Our community has lost a special man. Condolences to the family.

 

I remember some specific, quite helpful information I garnered from his posts. And also from a few PM messages via CoinTalk.

Thanks @Alegandron and @TIF for taking the time and effort to facilitate our reading of such a wonderful post in memoriam.

 

Here, here, to a wonderful humanitarian and coin collector. I shall miss him....

 

I don't remember interacting with him early in my ancients endeavor, but I do remember the times.
Cheers with a coors light, except he would probably like to look at a coin.
Licinius, Genio

 

Very sad news! My sincere condolences to his family and friends. I did not know him beyond the Forums, but his contributions there were invariably interesting, informative, and cordial. He will be missed.

 

Rest In Peace.

 

Thanks for sharing @Alegandron, Thomas was such a kind and warmhearted man. He will be missed.

 

Miss chattin’ with you! Hope you are well my friend!

 

It was @TIF that graciously edited and wrote the Memorial. She did an excellent job capturing all our feelings. It was requested that I posted it here onto CT.
Best to All,
Brian

 

I just edited his official obituary (edited for privacy).

Sev was an incredible human being and a great friend. I miss him tremendously but am grateful to have known him.

 

Due to the heavy demands of grad school, I haven't posted here in a while, but I wanted to stop in and say how sorry I was to hear this news. I always enjoyed seeing Sev's posts around here, and I had a fantastic experience as a buyer and consigner to AMCC. He will be missed.

 

I too enjoyed his posts and although I didn't know him well, I guess I still felt close to him as a fellow Canadian. Rest in peace.

 

Sev was one of my best coinfriends. Even though we lived six thousands miles apart, we managed to meet in person. That is and will remain an highlight in my last trip to North America two years ago

Here's the Severus Alexander coin he prefered from my collection


Severus Alexander, Sestertius - Rome mint, 231 CE
IMP SEV ALEXANDER AVG, Laureate bust of Severus Alexander righ, with light drapery on left shoulder
IOVI CONSERVATORI, Jupiter standing left, holding thunderbolt and sceptre, with a small figure of the emperor at his feet, SC in field
14.75 gr
Ref : RCV #7966, Cohen # 74

Q

 

Sorry to hear this. May he Rest In Peace.

 

RIP my friend!

John

 

That's a wonderful coin in many ways! Not surprised he was especially attracted to it.

Conversely, below is a coin from Severus_Alexander's collection that I fell in love with. We discussed the type and his example via CT. He was exceptionally pleased and proud that it found its way into his collection.

It's not an aesthetic "beauty" from the standpoint of numismatic grading. However, his passion for its shield by far superseded his concern for it needing to be high grade. He and I shared that passion.